[Grabs bag of popcorn] Well, I'm all ready, how about you?
I'll give you a few seconds to get ready.
In the meantime, I will say that I don't own either of the manga/anime's I'm writing about here, I can only see the characters in my head and say "Wow, that looks cool!" O.o
DARN OWLS!!! Wait, me again. My bad. .
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Back yet? Good.
3, 2, 1, FIGHT
Ranma launched herself off toward the green one to meet his attack head on.
"Hahah! You should have taken the help of your freinds! YAA!!"
"Whatever. YEAHH!"
CRASH
Between the two their fists met, creating a slight shockwave that expanded. Although in Ranma's case, it was actually about fifty hits compressed to an instant.
"AAHH!!" Ranma fell backward, propelled that way by the fact that she was lighter than the great green one.
Blinking twice, she stood up. "Okay, he hits a lot harder than that Drum guy."
Piccolo continued the assault and was on Ranma almost immediately. "Whoa!"
"STAND STILL!!!" Piccolo was getting frustrates while Ranma was dodging every strike and blurring a bit in the process.
"Hey! She's pretty good! Haha!" Goku appeared to be having a bit of fun, and was apparently anticipating fighting this new girl.
"Hey... you guys, AUGH! Can jump in... Yee! Yikes! Anytime now!"
'Come on Chaotzu!"
"NO! YAAGHHH!!!" Piccolo threw out a tremendous blast-wave of energy, knocking the two closest to him down.
But Goku was still standing. "YA!!!"
"AH!" Piccolo took yet another hit to the head, but used his hand to flip back to his feet just as Ranma's foot landed right where his head had been. (A/N: His head is a pretty big target... .)
Growling menacingly, Piccolo launched a bolt of energy out of his mouth, which fount its target in Goku's chest, knocking him back a ways.
Tien let out with a massive punch to his chest, backed by a load of white energy that burned the symbol off of his shirt and singed his green shirt. "AAHH!! You!" Lashing out with his claws, he caught the cuff of Tien's pants, recieving a kick to his elbow for the trouble.
"MOKO TAKABISHA!!" Jumping backward, he avoided a white ball thrown by the skinny one, but was caught in the back by Goku's Kamehameha.
"AUGH!!! RAGH!!!" Like a trapped animal, he became more and more dangerous with every passing second.
He was ready to try anything to save his skin. But three on one!
He had to find a weakness... "AUGH!!" Purple blood flowed from a fresh cut on his forehead, having just barely avoided being fried by a lightning bolt thrown by the three-eyed one.
But he got a sharp kick in his back for his trouble. "RRRRGHHHH!!!" Looking around, he looked for anything that could give him an advantage.
Seeing something promising, he sneered.
Running off in a seemingly random direction, his run was matched by the equally foot-quick redhead.
"Oh master! Not this way! Please!?"
"HAA!!!" Piccolo didn't stop, not even when he ran through the wall of the building.
Piccolo's pterodactyl assistant pulled her head off the ground, looking at the hole in the wall with a sigh. She was afraid that her master might try to use her in the fight!
She wasn't made for that!
All three of the warriors frowned, waiting for Piccolo to come back out. Goku took the initiative and called out to him. "COME OUT, PICCOLO! WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"
Piccolo came out of the building slowly, chuckling darkly and holding both hands behind his back in a calm gesture.
"There you are!" Goku was about to jump at him, ready for the kill.
"Hold it right there!" Piccolo held out in front of him what he had hidden behind his back.
"LET GO OF ME, MONSTER!!!" The former King of the world struggled in his grasp, dangling there helplessly.
"Goku, don't do it!"
Goku stopped suddenly, seeing Piccolo's free hand at the King's neck.
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! JUST TAKE HIM OUT! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!"
Tien seemed to be fighting himself. "Goku, the Dragonballs won't work anymore. The Dragon has been killed and can't grant any more wishes!"
Ranma suddenly blanched slightly. "Look, wishes or no wishes, I don't want anyone not involved to get hurt. Let him go, Piccolo. This is our fight, not his."
"Oh! But I don't feel like letting go of my ticket out of here." Looking at his beak-nosed assistant, he nodded toward Tien's plane. "We're going."
Tien visibly calmed, dropping his aura. "Fine, just don't hurt him." {Girl, be ready to catch the King.}
'Girl' barely responded, except to look at Tien, who didn't look happy.
"Oh, I don't plan on it. Not for now, anyway. Now, we're going to go now, so you can just stay right here."
Ranma noticed something in the direction of Piccolo and gasped.
This action was enough to stall the Demon King. "What's wrong with you? I know this is a breath-taking outcome, but I think you're a bit late."
Ranma didn't get the chance to say anything before the ground started rumbling.
"What?" The ground beneath Piccolo's feet suddenly lifted in a dome-shape, and suddenly exploded in a bright white light, throwing the Demon King back and forcing his grip on the King to come loose.
"Ha!" Ranma jumped into the air and caught the helpless man as Chaotzu came flying out of the hole he had made with his energy.
Goku turned on the green monster with a determined look. "Monster! Using people as a shield!"
Piccolo floated in the air a few meters off the ground, looking teasingly down on the people down there. "Haha, and what do you think you're going to do about it?"
Goku prepared himself for his attack as Ranma landed. "KA..."
'What's he gonna do? He's already used that once. Which means that he's already seen it. Hmm...'
"ME!!!"
"HA!! I know just how to deal with this!" Piccolo began surging energy into his arms, preparing a deadly blast.
Tien saw it coming first. "GOKU! WATCH OUT! HE'S GOING TO HIT YOU FIRST!"
"HA!!!"
"Not if I can help it! ICE!!" Chaotzu grabbed onto Piccolo's feet and encased his body in a giant block of ice.
Only his head was free. "Rrrgh..." 'This is it, unless I can break free.'
Chaotzu fell to the ground. "Quickly! Before he breaks free!"
"ME!!!"
The frozen prison was already cracking open as Goku spoke the final word.
"HA!!!!!!!" Turning around, Goku blasted his attack behind him, launching himself forward at tremendous speed.
"WHAT?" With a shocked look on his face, Piccolo finally freed himself from the ice coffin and managed a last second block from the on-coming punch, which was filled with white-hot energy.
A bright light filled the area and all spectators of the final attack had to cover their eyes.
Goku was floating in the air behind the Demon King as Piccolo cringed, his hands broken and his stomach punctured.
In a last-ditch effort to live on, he created an egg, which he spewed powerfully into the distance. "Live on... my son, and take... my revenge."
With his essence gone and his energy suddenly freed, his body began to deteriorate. As his blood boiled, acid began to flow around his body freely and eat at his flesh, creating heat.
This heat built up until, finally, his body couldn't take it anymore.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!
The Demon King was gone, and they had won.
Ranma looked down at her passenger. "Hey, King, you okay?"
Tien smiled wispfully as puffs of smoke suddenly filled his vision. As his strength drained from his muscles, he fell over, asleep.
Chaotzu floated down to the ground, and joined his friend in dream-land. The two of them were feeling extremely drained right then.
Goku landed roughly on the ground with a smile. Fighting against the pain of the landing, and a few cuts Piccolo had given him, he stood and walked over to the others.
Seeing Tien and Chaotzu on the ground, he smiled knowingly. They had to be tired, they had fought really hard. Seeing the King safe with Ranma, he smiled again. "Hey, we won. But who are you anyway?"
Ranma smiled as she stuck her nose into the air. "Just another fighter who saw a good fight here and took it."
Goku blinked twice in quick succession, and then fell to his knees, and then to his back. "Oh, okay. I'm gonna take a nap now..."
"You wasted a lot of energy on that last hit, didn't you?"
Smiling good-naturedly, Goku laughed a bit. "Hehe, yeah. I wanted to make sure he wouldn't get away."
"THE GREAT DEMON KING PICCOLO IS NOT DEAD YET!! Didn't you see that egg of his? My master is still alive in that egg! And he will come back to kill you! Just you see!"
Ranma frowned deeply and called up a shining aura of energy, which gave her voice an echo effect. "You know, I don't want to kill innocents, or even most villians, but you shouldn't even be here, so I could kill you right here."
A quick shuffling sound saw a girl in a blue gi appear just in front of the beak-nosed one. "She's right, you know. If things had been just a little different, you would have died in the first fifteen seconds of fighting between just Goku and Piccolo. And the result would have been the same anyway." Her calm voice came seemingly without regard for the momentous battle that had just taken place. "But, there's no reason to have you dead if you default. Give your loyalty to the King of this world, that way, if he ever does take the throne again, then you would be under him again. But if he didn't, then you would have fewer people out to kill you, right?"
As Ranma sat wordlessly, Piano, Piccolo's most trusted advisor, nodded and made her decision. "Kill me."
"Huh?" Ranma was shocked by this statement.
"Why?"
Piano shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot go against my master Piccolo. Even if he were dead, then I would rather join him in death."
Alex nodded her head and picked up one hand to strike her.
"WAIT!"
Crack!
Eyes and mouth open wide, she fell to the ground, despite Ranma's pleas.
"W-why? Why would she just want to die like that?"
Alex, the odd, god-like girl, shrugged. "That's one of the things that loyalty does for you. You would rather give your own life than go back on that loyalty. But don't worry, she's not dead, I only knocked her out."
Ranma blinked as she looked the taller girl in the eye. "So... what do you plan on doing with her?"
Alex lifted the motionless form over her shoulder. "Well, she says that Piccolo is out there somewhere, so I'm going to put her out there too. She can fend for herself, and perhaps find her master too. If she does, then she's his problem."
"And if not?"
"Well, that's her problem, isn't it?"
As the taller girl left through the air, the King started up. "Well now, I've been rude. Please, allow me to show my hospitality. And also to give good news to the world!"
Ranma smiled. "And would you happen to know where to get some hot water?"
King was confused, but laughed. "Hohoho! Oh yes, I think we can find some fairly easily! But why would you need hot water?"
Ranma sighed. "Trust me, it's a long story. For now, I think they need that 'hospitality' more than I do." Ranma pointed over his shoulder at the forms lying on the ground just as Goku began moving.
"Ugh, I can move, but I could really use... something to eat."
Ranma then said something equally intelligent. "Hey! I could use some food too! Sushi please! Or maybe some Ramen? Aw, forget that, one of everything!!"
"Yeah! That sounds good!"
"Oh Ho! Hohoho! Of course! Let's go! I'll get some of the guards to help these other two inside!"
Ranma helped Goku into the palace, allowing him to drape his arm on her shoulder.
Tien opened his eyes to the sound of a general milling about of several people.
One voice stuck out above the rest. "People of the world. I have an announcement."
King smiled proudly. "Earlier, my place as King was contested. Well, just a little while ago today, the former King Piccolo's place as King was contested, and won. Piccolo has been eliminated and I am again free to take my place as King. West City, and all the provinces of the world, are safe from his hand." He swore he could hear their cheers as this news was relayed to them.
The King gestured for Ranma and Goku to come up beside him, which they did. "It is because of these brave warriors, and two others who could not appear here, that our world is safe once again. And in light of this, I plan to give them our highest honor."
Both warriors at each of his sides blinked in confusion. "What's that?"
"Is it food? I'm still hungry..."
A worldwide crash was heard as people all over the world heard this question by their new savior.
"Yeah! That sounds great! When do we eat?"
CRASH!
'Man, what is it with this world? Does the whole world shake suddenly for no reason?' Ranma thought to herself.
King picked himself off the ground and addressed first the girl. "Uhm, yes. But first, do you think you could tell your name to the people of the world?"
"Huh? Oh yeah! I'm Ranma Saotome! And I'm The Best!" Swinging her arm around Goku's shoulder, she put her fingers out in a 'V for Victory' sign. "Right Goku? The Best! The Best! The Best! The Best!"
Goku looked confused at first, but then joined in the chant. "The Best! The Best! The Best! The Best! The Best! The Best!"
"But I thought I was 'The best'?" The camera turned around to reveal Tienshinhan sitting on the edge of a red couch. "I am, after all, the one who won the tournament, if you remember..."
Goku laughed happily. "Yea, I remember. You beat me fair and square!"
Ranma scratched her chin. "There was a tournament? Darn, and I missed it!"
"Oh hohoho! Now shall we get on with the ceremony?"
Blink Blink
One who could eat an army's worth one who has made Speed Eating into an artform = O.o Yikes...
The ceremony was somewhat uneventful, except that Tien had to take his medal in hand, as he had no shirt. He also took Chaotzu's medal, as he was still very much unconscious.
After this was finished, the promised meal was presented to the fighters.
"Mister King, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into..." Tien smiled in the King's direction.
"...?"
Ranma heard Tien say this and looked up at him. "Why do you say that? Oh wait one sec, let me get changed."
Grabbing a nearby teapot, she brought it in close and, as those present nearly fainted, she poured it over herself.
Immediately, she became a he.
Goku was fascinated. "Hey wow! Is that magic!?"
"Yeah! How'd you know?" Ranma swung his head back and forth, flinging the water out of his now raven-black hair and beating his own head with his pigtail.
"Wow! That's cool!" Goku's tail waved happily as the two of them got a good laugh from the whole thing.
As the food finally came into the room, Tien formed a rather large sweatdrop as he watched the two fighters across from him slap their hands together and look hungrily at the food.
"Oh wow! Food!" Goku was practically drooling over the food.
"Ohhhh maaaannnn!! Look at this!" Goku was already snarfing his food like some kind of crazed vacuum cleaner. Seeing this, Ranma was left speechless for a moment. And then he smiled. "Y'know, Goku, you're doing it all wrong! If you want to get in as much as possible, you're going to have to straighten out your throat and breath with your arms. Like this!"
At a rate that was possibly faster and more ravenous than even Goku, Ranma began to devour the food from the table, which seemed to be mysteriously disappearing.
Goku watched Ranma 'work' for a few moments, and then copied him. 'Wow! He was right! This is better!'
Tien was absolutely shocked. He had only heard stories of Goku's appetite! He had never actually seen it in person!
Alone, that was bad enough, but this other guy was just as bad! They were both inhaling their food at an incredible rate!
He was so taken by their eating that he failed to notice that his own plate was disappearing as well.
Patting his stomach, Ranma leaned back. "Ahhh... wow! That was great!" The table was picked clean, even every plate present was cleaned off.
Goku smiled as he licked his chops. "Hey! Is there any more?"
"More!? Goku! Could I have finally found someone with a bigger appetite than me!? Haha! Cool!" Ranma was practically in hysterics over this, as Goku scratched the back of his head.
Tien looked down at his plate as the King waved for the cooks to make more food. "Hey, what happened? Where'd my food go?"
Ranma smiled at him knowingly. "Hehe, sorry, but you weren't eating it or even guarding it, and old habits are hard to break. I could give it back, but I don't think you want it... Hehe!"
Tien turned slightly green at the suggestion.
"All right! More food!" This time, Tien managed to get some into his stomach. But only after learning that Goku had copied more than Ranma's snarfing techniques.
"Tien? Where are we?" Chaotzu floated into the room rubbing his eyes.
Seeing what was going on at the table, he began hovering there wordlessly and motionlessly. He didn't even take his hand down from his eyebrow as he watched, entranced by Goku's eating prowess.
'I think I was better off asleep...'
Tien managed to get his friend to come back to Earth just as another came into the room.
Blinking, the girl smiled. "Oh! So the feast has already started, eh? And I suppose this is the second or more serving?"
Tien blinked in surprise. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
Smiling, Alex pointed at the table. "Three things. The table's full. Ranma's finished eating already, and Goku hasn't started slowing down yet. You know, I kinda wondered how those two would get along at the dinner table... I guess now I know." Smiling like a proud mother, she looked at Ranma knowingly. "So you taught Goku the fine art of 'Speed Eating' huh?"
Ranma laughed as he put his hand behind his head. "Oh! Yeah, I gave him a few pointers! But I think he still has a bit to learn though 'cause I could get food straight from his plate and he never even noticed!"
Drip, drip... Large beads of sweat were hitting the floor already.
Goku stopped mid-swallow, having noticed Ranma's last words. "Fffou fid?" (You did?)
"Oh yeah! Wanna see?" Ranma pulled out a pair of chopsticks and clicked them together as Goku nodded.
He then lashed out on the table, tapping here, there, and all over. Each tap saw another piece of food disappear.
But Tien didn't even see any of this, but he did notice that about half of the food previously on the plate just in front of Goku suddenly disappeared while Goku was still staring toward the middle of the table.
"Impressive... you followed my chopsticks!" Ranma held the chopsticks up, showing all the different foods clasped between them. "But you missed my hand!" He showed his other hand, which was also loaded with various pieces of food. Smiling proudly, he threw them in the air. "But you can have them, I'm already full!"
Goku grabbed each piece of food straight out of the air and continued on his eating frenzy with new respect for the guy across from him.
Alex smiled as she stood in the doorway. 'It looks like they've bonded! I suppose Korin can wait until they're finished...'
End of Chapter 3
Hehe, that's it!
So... yeah. That's it! Um, nothing much else to say. So, till next time, kay?
PS: Please look at my bio!
Alex Ultra: Creator of Eternal Realm
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